No one loves Charlie anymore

Rep. Charlie Rangel had a captive House squirming in its seats today, with a classic, emotionally charged stemwinder defending himself against ethics charges and accusing his erstwhile friends of cowardice.

“You’re not going to tell me to resign to make you feel comfortable,” Rangel told the rats who once rode his ship. The 80-year-old former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and 40-year House veteran needled the president for his suggestion that Rangel resign “with dignity,” and blasted fair-weather colleagues with the ascerbic wit he usually aims at Republicans.

Speaking extemporaneously to Democrats forced to return to Washington to clear a bill extending aid to states and teachers, Rangel said he cannot afford to be left “swinging in the wind” on 13 counts of ethics violations while his legal bills, now at $2 million, bankrupt him.

He ridiculed some of the charges: “There has to be a penalty for grabbing the wrong stationery;”and “I plead guilty to not being sensitive.” And he ridiculed his colleagues for wanting him gone before they face voters in November, demanding that the Ethics Committee, chaired by San Jose Democrat Zoe Lofgren, set a date for his proceedings to begin.

“I’m thinking about all of you,” Rangel said. “No one should have to wait two years for you to say, ‘No comment.”

Ouch. And “no comment” is exactly what most of his colleagues had to say afterward. An exception was Georgia Democrat John Lewis, who told reporters had he been in Rangel’s shoes, he would not have made the speech.

The charges against Rangel include allegations that he used his Ways and Means stationery to solicit donations for a building named in his honor at the City College of New York, failed to pay taxes on a Dominican Republic rental and accepted a rent-stabilized apartment for his campaign office. He apologized for some of the actions, and defended himself on others, saying use of a rent controlled apartment violated no laws.

He said his lead lawyer has offered to work pro bono if he runs out of money, adding, “I expect the leadership to help me,” if he needs money for his defense. Moments later he said, “I apologize to the leadership,” noting that friends told him, “They all love you.”

“But they love themselves more,” he added. “Don’t think I don’t have feelings. Don’t think I don’t have pride.”